Magnetic Attraction
by shakabrah
Summary: After a chain reaction of terrible events, Craig and his family are forced to move out of state and reside in a cheaper, remote little town in Colorado. What started off as a depressing new leaf, becomes something a little more exciting when he notices the sudden activity on his compass. That is, until Craig learns just who his compass was pointing too. [ Cryde, Soulmate!AU ]


[[ **Authors Note:** This fic was inspired by a prompt on tumblr; A Soulmate AU where everyone is born with a compass that point to your soulmate. Special thanks to my friend for beta'ing this! Cover art by Sarcasticbirb on tumblr. ]]

* * *

It had been a week since Craig moved to a remote little town called South Park. The bitter cold was a harsh and drastic change from his hometown back in Florida. The town was deserted and empty compared to where he once lived. The people all seemed to know each other and Craig was left feeling like an outcast. It was a terrible combination, especially with the other situations. His family lost their house due to financial problems, and Craig had to leave his best friends in the middle of his senior year of high school—so much for graduating together. Then there was the icing on the cake; both of his parents struggled to get a job in this small town, when finally something came through—a graveyard shift .

It was only natural that Craig was down in the dumps.

Now it wasn't like no one tried to befriend him—in fact a ton of people tried to talk with him. On the first day a group of kids swarmed around him and talked on and on about how it had been years since there was a new kid. Sure, Craig could have smiled, introduced himself back, and made a few new friends. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Instead he snapped, demanding he be left alone before storming off to go eat lunch in the bathroom

The bathroom, can you believe it?

The only thing that kept him from crying on the spot were the kids who also chose to lurk in the bathrooms during lunch.

After the first day, no one attempted to talk with Craig again. Rumors spread fast, which was the only thing this school had in common with his old one. Craig didn't mind much; in fact he was thankful for the silence.

Now it was Friday, and Craig found he had grown quite used to the students in this school. It was the only upside to the small, small population. The closest thing Craig had made to a friend was this little geeky kid in his science class—Kevin. At least, Craig was pretty sure that was his name. Kevin was nice, quiet and didn't talk to him much unless he had to. Though over the course of each day, they started to talk a little more. Not much though.

As the bell's chime resonated throughout the class, Craig gave a little wave to Kevin as he packed up to leave. "So we still cool with tonight?" Kevin asked, grabbing his bag and following alongside Craig. Craig gave a nod, offering a faint smile to him.

"Yeah, I'm still down." Craig confirmed. "Thanks for inviting me—I'll see you later Kevin." He said, before parting ways.

Once out of distance, Craig sighed to himself. Why in God's name did he agree to going to a football game? He hated sports, especially football. Only crippling boredom would come out of this. Though it wasn't like he had anything better to do tonight, Craig reasoned as he opened his locker. In the midst of putting his books away, the loud obnoxious chattering of what he could only assume was the aforementioned football team shrilled behind him. A groan escaped his throat, his eyes rolling in annoyance. Thankfully he was masked by his locker, though it still didn't change the fact Craig hated these people. Figures his locker would be right across from the majority of the football team. Craig hurriedly finished up and closed his locker, not wanting to stay here another minute. However, upon turning around to leave, he found the most obnoxious of them all blocking his path.

Clyde Donovan—or at least that's what Kevin said his name was. The guy was either being obnoxiously loud or flirting with anything that had tits. Kevin insisted that Clyde was a good guy, but Craig wasn't buying it. Craig shoved past the jock, not passing a glance back as he briskly made his way out of school, eager to get home already.

* * *

There was one more thing that made this town bearable—Craig's compass. It moved a lot recently. Back at home, it only ever moved if Craig turned directions. Here though? It would sway from side to side, wildly spinning during passing periods, and even more so after Craig got home. Which could only mean his so-called 'Soulmate" lived in this town. While Craig wasn't one for romances—especially this soulmate mumbo-jumbo—he had to admit it was a little exciting, in a weird way.

Though despite this excitement, Craig didn't care much to check his compass on a regular basis. Most people had their eyes glued, especially when it finally started spinning and spinning. Hell, he heard of people taking off a year from work to hunt down their soulmates. So many people back in his old school would tease and question him on why he didn't care much for his compass.

In fact, it wasn't until Kevin spoke up that Craig finally glanced down at his compass. "It really is moving! Your soulmate is probably here." Kevin exclaimed, an odd twinkle in his eyes. "This must be really exciting, I've always dreamed about the day my compass would do that." Craig laughed, glancing out to the field. "Maybe it's one of the cute cheerleaders. Man, you would be so lucky if it was." Kevin went on. Craig had to agree, that would be pretty sweet—assuming it wasn't some stereotypically rude one. Though really, most of them were relatively nice from what he's seen. A big change from his old school, those cheerleaders were ruthless.

Craig glanced down at his compass, watching as the needle swayed between northwest and northeast. Something wasn't right. Craig looked up, and noticed the cheerleaders were stationary, only idly swaying to their cheers. The only thing moving to generate such a reaction from his compass were the football players.

His stomach dropped.

"No fucking way…" Craig mumbled to himself, alternating between looking at his compass and the football field. This was the most immersed he had ever been in a sports game in his life. Determined to figure out what was making his compass swing back and forth wildly. It was impossible to pinpoint which player it was though, especially with how chaotic the game was. Until finally a play was knocked down, number 2 for the South Park Bulls. While the other players dispersed, he lingered and so did the needle on Craig's compass.

"Number 2…." Craig repeated to himself, not able to believe it. There was no way a dude—a football player at that—was his soulmate. "I'm sorry Kevin, I have to leave early." Craig said, hurriedly grabbing his jacket and scampering off.

* * *

Two days. Craig had two days to think about the mysterious Number 2 player. He was still struggling to come to terms with the fact his soulmate was a dude. A guy. With a dick. All his life he believed and assumed his soul mate would be some girl. Not a football playing, Jock-headed dick .

Craig smacked himself, trying to get a grip on his wild, rampaging thoughts. There was no definite that Number 2 was his soulmate. It could have been a coincidence. Craig wouldn't be sure until he found out who Number 2 was and looked at his compass. Even the late bell ringing didn't snap Craig out of his thoughts. In fact, it wasn't until something large rammed into him, almost knocking him onto the tiled ground. Craig's gray eyes snapped over to look at what dumbass was just standing in the middle of the hallway.

The large "2" on the person's varsity jacket immediately caught his attention. Craig's eyes widened and he saw "Donovan" listed under it in big letters. His once hostile expression turned into one of fear. Craig's eyes shot down to his compass, and sure enough the needle was pointing directly at "Number 2", or Clyde Donovan. Craig refused to accept it though, and walked around Clyde, eyeing his compass and sure enough the needle stayed pointed at Clyde.

Before Clyde had a chance to question the situation, Craig was high tailing it out of the hallway and to his class. Clyde was left in the deserted hallway, frozen to the spot by pure shock alone.

* * *

"Hey, Clyde, the squad's gonna go to McDonalds and then Jason's house afterwards. Want to tag along?" Clyde shook his head, waving off his friend. Currently Clyde's eyes were glued to the lockers across from his own. Clyde hadn't told anyone about the compass incident since this morning, mostly due to the fact his compass pointed to a guy. That would kill his image in the school!

"If you say so! Catch you later Clyde." With that his friend ran off.

Ever since Clyde was little he daydreamed about the day he would finally meet his soulmate. Media played it out to be one of the happiest moments in a person's life, one full of love and bliss. Fairytales played out the scene with two people running into each other's arms, crying out of sheer happiness. For Clyde's whole life, his compass remained stationary, only moving subtle amounts or when Clyde physically moved. It was common; the lack of movement is what made the long awaited meeting so emotional and beautiful. So imagine Clyde's surprise when one morning he wakes up to sudden activity in his compass, the needle swaying much more than normal. His heart felt like it was caught in his throat, he was almost tempted to chase after his needle and hunt down his soulmate. He restrained himself though, hiding his compass underneath his jacket sleeve. School first. Then soulmate chasing.

Except during school, rumors spread almost instantaneously about a new kid in the senior class. Clyde's interest was piqued; surely this new kid was the cause of his sudden compass activity. Yet despite getting his suspicions Clyde couldn't bring himself to look at his compass. He found himself almost afraid of what would happen once he found out who it was. If it really was the new kid, then there was no rush. Plus there are so many other explanations; a new kid is just too convenient and lucky.

At least that's what Clyde thought, until yesterday's little event.

So now here Clyde stood, waiting patiently for the compass' suspect to finally show himself so Clyde could confirm for himself.

The second Clyde caught sight of a blue hat and yellow scarf; he felt his body go stiff and his throat go uncomfortably dry. All of it out of fear from the unknown. Nonetheless he forced himself to walk up to the guy, wincing at the evidence of his compass pointing directly at him. With reluctance, Clyde hesitantly tapped his shoulder. Clyde watched as the shorter male heaved out a sigh and slammed his locker shut, turning around to glare at him. Except, the second he took notice to the fact it was Clyde, his eyes widened. "Sorry, I just felt like—" Before Clyde could even finish introducing himself, as the guy was making a beeline for the exit. "Hey! Wait! I just want to talk with you!" Clyde shouted, chasing after the other. He was surprised to learn that this guy could run. While it would be easy for Clyde to catch up—what with 6 years of football under his belt—he choose not to.

Instead he watched with a defeated sigh as his "Soulmate' ran off.

Sure enough, his compass followed the directions of him.

These situations went on for the next few days. Clyde would catch a glimpse of the guy and the second he recognized Clyde, he ran in the opposite direction. It didn't help that they shared literally no classes together. The only chance Clyde had was in-between classes and after school, as their lockers were across from each other. Yet it was still impossible to talk with him, Clyde tried everything in the books: from blocking the main exit, to waiting right by his locker, all the way to asking Kevin for info on the guy. Who was apparently named "Craig Tucker". Sadly that was the only thing Kevin knew, as Craig never really talked much. Figures his soul mate would be some antisocial jerk.

Speaking of Craig, the damn bastard was doing his usual routine of walking in the opposite direction from Clyde. Clyde had enough of this goose chase; he was going to talk to this guy if it killed him! Slinging his backpack over his shoulders, Clyde briskly walked after Craig, ignoring the waves from a few of his friends. Sure enough the second Craig took notice to Clyde's advancing figure, he picked up the pace, eager to avoid confrontation at all costs. Clyde didn't plan on letting him get away that easily though, so as Craig picked up the pace so did Clyde. "Craig, wait dammit! I just want to talk to you!" Clyde called out, running after the guy. God he didn't want to be so creepy about this, but ever since his compass pointed directly at Craig, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Though in the midst of their little chase, Craig made…the oddest choice of taking an alternative path through the damn forest. Figures—like the ice and snow wasn't enough of a problem. Clyde almost slipped on said ice at the sudden change in directions. "Craig you are making this so much more difficult than it has to be!" Clyde shouted, before groaning in exasperation and he continued running, this time through the forest. The second he caught sight of Craig though, he decided enough was enough and made one last sprint towards the raven-haired male. Sure enough he caught up with him within seconds.

Granted, Clyde all but tackled the poor guy to the ground. On the moment of impact, Clyde heard a shriek of pain from underneath him. Shit. Sure enough when Clyde got off Craig, the guy's face was twisted in pain. Though that didn't stop him from giving Clyde one of the nastiest glares he's ever seen in his life. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Clyde paused, trying to figure out what he did.

"You stupid meathead! This is why I hate your type." Craig hissed, not once breaking eye contact with Clyde, despite the throbbing pain in his ankle. With a groan of pain, Craig grabbed a nearby tree for support as he tried to get up. Though the second his foot touch the ground, Craig yelled out and slipped back to the ground in defeat.

"H-Here, I can help." Clyde said, hesitantly walking over. Though the second he got within reaching distance, Craig practically hissed at him like a temperamental cat.

"Fuck off, I don't need your help." Craig snapped, "This is your fault anyways! What sane person tackles someone to the ground?!"

"I said sorry! It wasn't like I meant to hurt you. I just want to talk with you." Clyde said, "Anyways, if you would have just stopped running none of this would have happened! I just wanted to introduce myself." With that, Clyde stormed over, and ignored the hostile looks Craig shot him as he grabbed Craig's arm and hoisted him up, a hand around him to keep him stabilized.

"Don't fucking touch me you stupid jock! I can handle myself—!" Craig snapped, however the moment he pushed away from Clyde, the sharp pain from his ankle shot up his body and once again had him on the ground. A low whine slipped out, tears almost threatening to poke through from how painful this injury was. Surely trying to walk on it several times wasn't helping the situation.

Clyde just watched in complete disbelief as Craig continually kept trying to walk on his most likely sprained ankle. Either this guy was an idiot or extremely stubborn. Maybe both. This was harder than trying to help some hostile injured animal. With a deep sigh, Clyde walked over to the cripple teen and with quick movements he picked Craig up with shocking ease. Admittedly Clyde stumbled back a bit, not expecting him to be so light in weight.

Sure enough Craig was hostile the second he was in Clyde's arms. Instinctively slapping and smacking Clyde, trying to break free from this ridiculously close contact. "Ow! Craig quit that! I'm trying to help you, you fucking asshole!" Clyde snapped, half tempted to dip Craig to scare him into calmness. Though, something told him that that would just piss Craig off more. Since it didn't seem like Craig was going to calm down anytime soon, Clyde decided to go with an alternative route. Letting Craig's legs go, he hoisted the lighter and slightly shorter teen over his shoulder, earning a yelp of surprise. Had Clyde not been so frantic to calm Craig down, he might have laughed a bit at that.

"I tried being nice, but god damn you are mean !" Clyde said when Craig began hitting his back. "When you stop being a stubborn, temperamental ass tell me. Then I'll let you down and help you like a normal human being." Clyde snapped.

When Clyde glanced over at his compass, it pointed directly behind him.

Needless to say, the walk to the senior school parking lot was a long one. The drive to the hospital? Even longer.

* * *

[[ **Authors Note:** Hello again, and thank you so much for reading this! I would love it so much if you left a review, every little word means so much. Even a simple "Great" will make my (and other author's) day! Hopefully this fic wont be too long, since I don't have anything too complicated planned out. ]]


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